Is India Heading for a Mid-Term Lok Sabha Poll? Four Phases of Polling Are Over
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March 1- April 30, 2019 Justice. Liberty. Fraternity. Equality www.dalitpost.com Sex-for-food allegations in Mozambique More than 1,000 people died and tens of thousands were forced from their homes when Cyclone Idai hammered Mozambique before moving inland to Malawai and Zimba- Dalit Post bawe..... - page 12 2019 Lok Sabha Elections Special Double Digest Is India heading for a SC raps RBI with final mid-term Lok Sabha poll? warning... - page 2 Bihar’s caste engineering played out to the full... - page 8 All indications suggest the BJP will lose a large number of seats in the Lok Sabha 2019 polls, though, ending up as a single largest party relying enormously on alliance partners with contradictory ideologies to form a government that could collapse in 2022 or so... -page 4 Dalit MP Quits, Caste makes LS 2019 polls to decide says BJP anti-Dalit contest in KAR even.... fate of democracy... Indian laborers in Gabon being abused... - page 11 -page 16 -page 18 -page 23 Dalit-Muslim New pact causes ‘chowkidars’ Haryana moms worry for courtesy lead from BJP-Shiv Sena cattle the front in in Maharashtra menace... sons’ fight.. - page 13 - Quaid Nazmi -page 9 - Anand Singh -page 12 Much, Much More Inside! For free private circulation Current affairs... Dalit POST www.dalitpost.com March 1- April 30, 2019 2 SC raps RBI in final warning Delhi Govt in the The Supreme Court has close information under the dock over NFSA given the RBI “one last Right to Information (RTI) The Delhi High Court pulled up taken. There is no functional State opportunity” to disclose Act. the state government for its lacka- Food Commission in Delhi,” the annual inspection reports The petitioners had daisical approach on the National petition said. of banks as it just stopped claimed that RBI and its Food Security Act (NFSA) and Proper implementation of the short of issuing a contempt former Governor Urjit Patel asked the concerned senior official NFSA is crucial to ensure food notice against RBI Gover- had “willfully and delib- of the Food Supplies and Consum- security for the poor and the mar- nor Shaktikanta Das, and erately” disobeyed the top er Affairs Department to appear ginalized, the organization said. ordered the Reserve Bank court’s judgment asking before it on May 9, the next date A Division Bench of Chief of India to disclose the will- the central bank to disclose fixed for the hearing. Justice Rajendra Menon and Jus- ful defaulters’ list under the information under the RTI The court order came on the tice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on Right To Information Act. Act. Delhi government’s reply sought Friday said that it was completely The top court also ordered The court rejected the conten- in a contempt petition filed by the dissatisfied by the Delhi govern- the central bank to withdraw its “It is sad to say that tion of the apex bank and others Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan. ment’s reply. non-disclosure policy, which the that its (top court’s) December 16, In its main petition, the organiza- It noted that the government’s court concluded is in violation of our Prime Minister, in 2015 judgment needs reconsidera- tion sought disbursal of subsidized reply showed that the grievance the apex court’s judgment in 2015. a cynical manner, is tion saying “We are not persuaded food grains to beneficiaries under redressal and accountability rules Taking a serious view of the taking advantage of to accept the submission ... that the the NFSA without Aadhaar cards. had not been promulgated, more continued defiance, the court came judgment dated 16.12.2015 requires Under the NFSA, five kgs of than five years after the law was down heavily asking the RBI to the emotions and sen- reconsideration as we cannot con- food grains per person is provid- passed and 19 months after the make full disclosure of its annual timents of the public sider the said submission while de- ed each month at Rs 1-3 per kg to Delhi High Court order. inspection reports on the financial to gain political mile- ciding the contempt petitions.” over 80 crore people. “The government’s affida- health of banks, including position age in the backdrop The two petitioners sought ini- On September 1, 2017, the vit shows that the file regarding of NPAs, and also withdraw its dis- tiation of contempt of court action High Court directed the Delhi framing of rules has just been closure norms as it came in the way of terror attacks” against former Governor for not government to frame rules and transferred between various de- of making public informations on disclosing information as directed operationalize all provisions of the partments and ministries, with no the state of banks under the RTI. by the top court. NFSA in a time-bound manner. concrete action taken,” the bench A bench of Justice L. Nag- body Reserve Bank of India could One of the contempt petitions In its contempt petition, the observed. eswara Rao and Justice M.R. Shah not withhold information on de- filed by Girish Mittal said that RBI NGO said that the Delhi govern- It also noted that the concerned said the banks are “duty bound to faulters, losses and alleged illegal- refused to provide information ment had not complied with the officer of the Food Supplies and furnish all information relating to ities of the banks by invoking the sought about the inspection reports order till date. “It has not framed Consumer Affairs Department had inspection reports and other mate- exception under the Right to Infor- of some banks. rules for implementing the griev- failed to attend the hearing. Taking rial apart from the material that was mation Act. In December 2015, the petition- ance redress and accountability strict note of the non-compliance, exempted in para 77 of the judge- “The ideal of ‘Government by er under the RTI Act had sought provisions under the NFSA and the court ordered the officer to ap- ment. Any further violation shall the people’ makes it necessary that certain information which included no social audit have been under- pear before it on May 9. be viewed seriously by this Court.” people have access to information copies of inspection reports of ICICI Pronouncing the judgment, Jus- on matters of public concern. The Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and tice Nageswara Roa said, “Though free flow of information about af- State Bank of India from April 2011 we could have taken a serious view fairs of Government paves the way till December 2015. Biggest man of the Respondents (RBI and the for debate in public policy and fos- The petitioner had also sought Banks) continuing to violate the ters accountability in Government. copies of case files with file notings management exercise directions issued by this Court, It creates a condition for ‘open gov- on various irregularities detected we give them a last opportunity to ernance’ which is a foundation of by RBI in case of Sahara Group of withdraw the disclosure policy inso- democracy”, the bench of Justice companies and erstwhile Bank of far as it contains exemptions which M.Y.EqbalAand Justice C. Nagap- Rajasthan by these entities them- are contrary to the directions issued pan (since both retired) had said in selves and their known/unknown by this Court.” their 2015 judgment. promoters. Referring to paragraph 77 of the The RBI, as per 2015 judgment, However, RBI denied the infor- December 16, 2015 judgment, the was supposed to disclose the annual mation in January 2016 that such court said that the only exception audit report of the banks, status of information is exempted under that was carved out by the top court NPAs and action taken there on. Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act and in its 2015 judgment was relating to The top court by its 2015 order Section 45NB of the Reserve Bank the disclosure of information having had asked the RBI to share informa- of India Act. bearing on “security of the State.” tion on the annual audit of the banks The petitioners contended that Referring to the new disclosure including on NPAs under the Right top court in 2016 while directing policy that was uploaded by the to Information Act. disclosure of a very similar type of RBI on April 12, 2019 replacing However, this was stalled after information sought under the RTI With a record number of two lakh highest ever number of Indians the earlier policy of November 30, RBI introduced disclosure norms Act had observed RBI is clearly not pilgrims from India set to perform will perform Haj this year. 2016, the court said, “The respond- that blocked the disclosure of in- in any fiduciary relationship with Haj this year, efforts are on to or- Officials in Haj Committee ents (banks) in our opinion, have formation on the financial health of any bank. ganize the required manpower for said that with the increase in Haj committed contempt of this court the banks under the RTI. An RTI The petitioners argued that the the biggest man management ex- quota this year, all the applicants by exempting disclosure of materi- activist Subhash Chander Agrawal responses of RBI are in complete ercise undertaken by India outside from states like Uttar Pradesh, al that was directed to be given by had moved the top court seeking violation of the top court judgment its border, officials said. West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra this court.” contempt action against RBI Gov- by which it was held that RBI ought The Ministry of Minority Af- Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Himachal However, it recorded the sub- ernor for not complying with its to act with transparency and not fairs will depute 638 officials to Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab and mission by RBI that the new policy 2015 judgment.